Shelly L. Miller
Associate Professor
Mechanical Engineering
University of Colorado at Boulder
427 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0427
303-492-0587
shelly.miller@colorado.edu
I am proposing to investigate a paradigm shift in the way I teach traditional engineering courses, by organizing my classroom activities around principles derived from the 5Rhythms™ dance practice, in which every class period goes through each of the rhythms. The 5Rhythms™ dance practice consists of 5 different ways of moving: flowing (grounded), staccato (directed), chaos (freedom), lyrical (joyful) and stillness (compassion) , and when danced in sequence are known as a wave. Benefits of this practice include self-confidence, creativity, relaxation, and self-awareness. I hypothesize that a classroom structure that follows a wave, not through dance movements, but through activities that compliment the components of the wave, will result in an experience that motivates students to come to class, to learn, and to enjoy the learning process at a whole new level. Additionally it will allow me to become a more effective teacher because I will be teaching according to my true nature incorporating all of my gifts. This project would occur in 2 phases: (1) planning and literature review, and (2) classroom implementation. I would like to investigate these ideas when I teach a large traditional lecture-based class, for example Thermodynamics II. This class typically has around 100 students enrolled and is taught in the spring semester. I would like to teach two sections of this course, using my new ideas in one section and traditional methods in the other.